Not in the figurative sense of the word, though. We’re not talking about possessing a formula to defend or, to be honest, even limit James on the court, as The King absolutely demolished DeRozan and the Toronto Raptors in a four-game Eastern Conference semifinals sweep to the tune of 36 points (on 57 percent shooting from the floor and 48 percent from deep), 8.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists a game.

After the worst playoff outing of his career — five points on 2-of-11 shooting, and just one point through three quarters — in a 125-103 Game 2 loss to the Cavs last week, DeRozan was asked how he and his team could stop the prolifically dominant James going forward. His response was simple — he had no clue, and was basically on the verge of putting out an ad on Craigslist for help.

After the Cavs knocked the Raptors out of the playoffs on Sunday for the second consecutive year, the topic of time was brought up in the postgame news conference. Did DeRozan think things would have shaped up differently against James & Company if his team had more time to prepare? His response was, again, simple: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Partake in praising of King James, just like we all have the whole postseason.

“If we had LeBron on our team, too, we woulda won,” DeRozan said. “We could say that all day, time, everything, but we didn’t. It happened. We got swept. It’s gonna be one of them long summers for us.”

As sad as his blunt response was, you’ve got to commend DeRozan for the respect he showed for James all series long.

The real answer for LeBron James? Maybe next year, DeRozan. Maybe next year.

Aaron Dodson is an associate editor at The Undefeated. Often mistaken for Aaron Dobson, formerly of the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals, he was one letter away from being an NFL wide receiver.